Emergency spindle for automobiles



Jan. 8 1924. 1,480,223

A. ROBECHAUD EMERGENCY SPINDLE FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Nov. 26 1921 Mama/ 10 u L INVEN TOR.

A TTORNEY S.

Patented Jan. 8, 1924.

.ALGIEDEIRO-BEOHAUD; or; MILWAUKEE, WISCONSILR.

Automates V A' pne'atioi first ovember 26,1921. Serial no; 518,085

To all jw ham 7 it may concern Beit known that' lf, Atomic Ronnoniron,"

a citizen of the' United States, residing at of Wisconsin, have invented new ,and useful Improvements in Emergency Spindles for Automobiles, of which the following is. a; 'PQQifi at Qn,

Th nit ti n rela es: t erge cy spindles for automfobilessim is particularly r t d we pi dl which m y e ns di n. mergen y to r pl a. p r on" o roke xle: th by fp r'm tt iggfi u y 1 eb lei e ve f'uiid it 'Q i p w r from the place of the acci'djefnt'*tO;,-the de ired p v Freque t y ut mebi sb k'th xt rn Porti n f, the r i aXlm d? he te bre it ha b en" fllmdnec aryr al ie re k g car to a ry hei tom biilb o eams? for v repairs; Frequently diffiiculty is ex- P ri ce yg fit ngr e e de as s anc after an accident of thistype fand a needl'e'sfs elay. i t as nedi. dddition th s; 5 n expensive .op' a e k' he f pp d r w h a ie et o. rcom hese e jay ia di 1 P n .QS-th'at t e P en nv nti ri sd gn s and it hr' e a obje t Of c i Iifv' n: ion o prov d an em rgeny pindlew ic may be quickly substituted forth broken P rti n 0f. fi X 6. to e y P rm t h car toibe driven under its own powerqto'the ep ir. hop;

Further objects areto provide an emergency spindle; 'for automobiles which be, readily and operatively positioned which maybe securely retained iir position; both with' re'spect to the rear axlehousing and withre'spectto the axle;: andwhich may be positionedpand, adjusted?by anon-skilled person.

Further objects are to provide an emergency spindle which necessitates the use of a minimum number of parts; which may be cheaply and readily manufactured; and which is of simple and sturdy design, readily oo-operating with standard automobile equipment.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a view of the rear housing and the rear wheels with the emergency spindle in position.

Figure 2' is an enlarged sectional View Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State" through the emergency spindle anda so'-; ciatediparts, with the wheel removed.

'- Figure 3 is an endview. of the spindle secured in" the housing Figure 4 is a sectional vife'w'onlifie of Figure 2'.

The inventlon has been shown as applied to a Ford, although it'may readily be ap pl e 5, yp O r- As 'W k wn, the rear axle 1 usually breaks just withinjthe rear housing 2, as illiistratedin' Figure w n s In applying the emergency 'spiiidleg thii roller bearings (not shown) [are removed andlthe hollow portion 3 ofthe' spindle is slipped over the projecting end'of thebroken rear axle, and "occupies. the I .plafce normally occupied by the roller bearing? It will be seen. from the dr wings that the'liollow pore tion 3 of the spindle is y1indrica1 and-fits provided with external groove' lewithin which. the reducedportioni5'i'of'a screw 6 is positioned. A convenient way of'positioning this screw'6" lS'iZO remove theoi'l cup and utilize this threaded opening'as illus= trated in Figure 2. V 1 n c The outer end ofjthespindlefhas a'tapered portion? whi h co-operates with the hiib of the wheel and is provided with a 'keyway 8 for the usual" locking. key and withafproa jecting threadedportion' 9 for' thenut. This i' is substantially similar toiftlie 1001 ortron 7 V responding port-ion of -the usual re'ari axle and may therefore co-operate witlf the-hub of the wheel in the same manner as such rearaide; I

In; order to operatively couple theaxle l wit-h the portion: 3 of the s indle? such portion is provided with a cylindrficalo en; irig 10 adapted to receivetheprojecting end of; the axle and" with an eccentric recessed portion 11 forming an addition :td the i ey lindrical portion 10. This recessed ortion 11 may conveniently be bounded by t e surface of a cylinder whose axis is eccentric to the axis of the main cylindrical opening 10. This opening 10 with its eccentric offset terminates adjacent the forward or outer portion of the hollow member 3 to leave material at such point to form an integral connecting portion 12 for the hollow portion 8 and the tapered portion 7. A relatively small hole 13 is drilled through the portion 12 and communicates with the eccentric recess 11.

When it is desired to use the emergency spindle, the roller bearing and the oil cup are removed, and the hollow portion 3 of the spindle is'slipped over the projecting'end of the axle 1 and a screw 6 positioned as illustrated in Figure 2, thereby rotatively retaining the spindle within the housing 2. A cylindrical pin 14 is slipped through the opening 13 and passed into the eccentric recess 11. When the axle 1 is now rotated, the pin 14 rolls into wedging position between the surface of the recess 11 and the outer periphery of the axle 1, and thereby positively and firmly locks the axle to the emergency spindle.

It will be seen that this means of locking the spindle to the axle is such that the car may be driven in either direction as desired, and that the gripping will increase in proportion to the torque. It will also be seen that this spindle is admirably adapted for use upon ordinary types of cars, and the particular manner of holding the spindle in positionwith relation to the housing, permits the free use of the usual brakes, brake bands, and brake casing, which have been omitted from the drawing for the sake of clearness. In this connection it is called to attention that the securing means is locked upon the housing at a slight distance inwardly from the brakes, and therefore does not in any manner interfere with the brakes.

While this device is intended primarily for emergency use, experiments have proven it to be practicable for long distances. It might'be thought that the pin 14 might slip axially from recess 11 and become lost. Such is not the case, however. Apparently there are no forces which come into play to move pin 14 longitudinally of the axle. Exhaustive tests have demonstrated that there is no need for any means for securing the pin against such movement. I

I claim:

1. In combination, an automobile axle and housing therefor, an emergency spindle having a hollow portion adapted to loosely receive aportion of the axle and to be. freely positioned thereon, said emergency spindle having an external groove formed therein, a screw passing through said housing and cooperating with said groove to retain the emergency spindle in correct position relative to said housing, and means including a wedge pin wholly receivable within the hollow portion of the spindle and adapted to be applied after the positioning of said spindle to lock said spindle to said axle.

2. In combination, an automobile axle and housing therefor, a spindle having a hollow portion adapted to receive a portion of the axle and having an eccentric recess merging into said hollow portion, and an externally opening hole in communication with said eccentric recess, a pin adapted to be inserted through said hole andpositioned within said eccentric recess, and means for retaining the spindle in position within said housing.

8. An emergency spindle for a broken axle of an automobile, said spindle comprising a relatively large cylindrical portion adapted to be received in the axle housingof said automobile and having an opening adapted to receive a portion of the axle, and having an eccentrically positioned recess merging into said opening, and an opening passing outwardly through said spindle and in communication with said eccentrically arranged recess; a projecting portion having means for co-operating with an automobile wheel hub; and means for retaining the spindle in position within said housing.

4. An emergency spindle adapted tofit within an axle housing and to constitute a repair for a broken axle shaft therein, said spindle comprising a wheel receiving 'element, a sleeve connected therewith adapted to be received into said housing and provided with an interior surface conforming in size and shape with the axle shaft for approximately one-half of its circumference, the remaining portion of the interior of said sleeve being eccentric to the axle shaft and accessible from the exterior of the sleeve, a pin adapted to be introduced into the eccentric portion of said sleeve between the sleeve and an axle therein and to confine the axle within the portion of the sleeve conforming thereto, said wheel receiving element being aligned with an axle so confined, means for retaining the spindle in position within said housin AL%IDE ROBECI-IAUD. 

